When Willow returned to Spike's house, she was greeted with the smells of food. She smiled as she saw Angel and Cordelia in the kitchen. Angel was putting the finishing touches on dinner while Cordelia set the table. They looked so comfortable together. Friends indeed.

"Hey guys." She walked towards the dining area. "You didn't have to cook." She told Angel.

"Are you kidding? It was mandatory." Cordelia contradicted and then grinned at the vampire. She turned back towards Willow. "I bet you're hungry. When did you eat last?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't know. Yesterday, maybe."

"Sit" Cordelia motioned for willow to take a seat as Angel set a couple of plates down.

Just as Cordelia was about to join her at the table, the doorbell rang. Cordelia groaned and started to stand.

"I'll get it." Angel told her as he gently pushed her back into her chair. He walked over to the door, bracing himself for whoever was one the other side.

"Xander." He looked at the new arrivals in shock. "Anya."

"Deadboy." Xander pushed past the vampire and made his way into the dining room. "Mmm, I'm just in time for dinner." He took a seat in a chain next to Cordelia.

Anya rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's behavior. She turned towards Angel. "We have news. And it's not good."

Angel watched in silence as the small group ate their dinner, discussing various matters. Everything except why they were all there. Anything except the choices they had been forced to make. No one spoke about what they were going to do. But that could only last for so long.

Willow stood up and started to clear the table. "Dinner was wonderful, Angel. Thank you." Willow called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, who knew Deadboy could cook?" Xander comment through a mouthful of food.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, but kept quiet.

"I'll be back." Willow spoke quietly as she returned to the dining area. When Angel nodded his head in understanding, Willow turned and headed up the stairs to check on Spike.

When she was gone, Xander took on a serious expression. "How is she? Really?"

No one spoke, letting the silence answer the question.

"Well then, I suggest we get to work." Anya broke the stillness, which had enveloped the room.

"You said you had some news?" Angel asked the former demon.

"We found out what's wrong with him. It's not good."

Willow leaned against the doorjamb to Spikes bedroom and sighed heavily. She watched his still body, and let the tears fall. She felt her feet give out under her and collapsed in a heap on the ground. The events of the past few days were catching up to her. She let the tears fall, soaking her cheeks as the force of the sobs racked her body.

She didn't know how long she had sat like that. Minutes, hours maybe. She didn't know. Eventually she felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her, and gently move her to the bed. She felt herself lean against the broad chest.

"Shh," A familiar voice whispered. "It's going to be alright."

Willow looked up and met chocolate brown eyes. "He's going to die, isn't he?"

"No." Angel shook his head. "I won't allow it." He reassured her. "Willow, we have some new information. We know what's wrong with him. Can you come downstairs?"

Willow took a deep shaky breath as she moved out of Angel's embrace. "No. I'm not leaving him." She moved higher onto the bed, so that she could hold Spike's warm and sweaty hand in her own.

"I'll go get the others." Cordelia whispered from the doorway."

A few minutes later Cordelia returned with Xander, Anya, and a recently returned Giles. They each took a seat in various places in the room. Xander and Anya sat in a couple of chairs, next to the stool, Giles had chosen, while Angel and Cordelia shared the small couch, which sat near the foot of the bed.

Willow smiled weakly at her friends. "What have you learned?"

Buffy pounded on Giles front door. She had been knocking for almost thirty minutes. She groaned as she realized that he wasn't here. Where would he go?" She asked herself aloud.

She turned to face Riley and Mark. "Now what?"

"We should go in. Check in with the professor." Riley told her. Buffy nodded and followed him out of the courtyard.

Several minutes, and nearly a dozen security precautions later, Buffy found herself seated in a large conference room, facing Maggie Walsh.

"Is it true what I've heard? That hostile 17's implant has malfunctioned?" Professor Walsh asked calmly.

Buffy nodded. "So I've been told."

"What exactly does that mean? It either has or it hasn't."

Buffy shrugged. "Spike… Hostile 17, is sick, but I haven't actually seen him myself."

Professor Walsh turned towards the others in the room. "We need to know for sure. Take a team, and recapture him… alive." She ordered.

Riley stood up, followed by his team.

"Wait." Buffy stopped everyone in their tracks. Professor Walsh turned her attention back to Buffy.

"He's… he's not alone." Buffy explained. "There are… others with him."

There was something in Buffy's voice, which alerted Professor Walsh. "Others? Other Hostile's? Or humans?"

Buffy took a deep breath. "Both."

Professor Walsh looked slightly surprised by this latest revelation, but then nodded. "Capture everyone. Will sort it out later."

"Professor?" Riley questioned. "If there may be more Hostile's, maybe we'd be safer taking them out during the day.

Professor Walsh stood and turned her back on the group. "I don't care how it's done, just so long as it is!"

Willow sat in stunned silence as she listened to Anya explain what she and Xander had learned. After several moments digesting the new information, she spoke. "Does Buffy know?"

Anya snorted. "Yes. She was there when they told us."

Willow nodded, a brief flash of pain coming across her features, before it was replaced with her famous resolve look.

"Maybe she doesn't understand." Angel began before any further reassurances could be brought up.

"It doesn't matter." Willow spoke quietly. "She couldn't do what I asked." She turned to face the small group assembled. "I can't ask any of you to help me. The Initiative is dangerous. I can't ask you to put your lives," She looked to angel, "Or unlives, in danger."

"Who's asking? The way I see it, we're offering." Cordelia pointed out, putting a comforting hand on Angel's arm.

"They're dangerous to us all." Anya's voice was laced with anger and fear.

"Anya's right." Giles spoke for the first time. "We can't allow this to continue. But I'm afraid I'm not sure what… what we can do."

"They did this. They have to know how to undo it." Willow's voice had grown stronger with each passing moment. Each word of friendship, and assistance, adding to her confidence.

"Do you think you can get access to their computer system?" Angel asked.

"Of course, the willster can do anything." Xander tried to lighten the mood.

Willow smiled at her friends' boost of confidence. "I can get inside, but without being on their machine, my access will be limited."

"So, then, a little breaking and entering?" Xander asked cheerfully.

"It would appear so." Giles acknowledged.

"When?"

"Tomorrow. Most of the commandos go to school here. They won't be anticipating a daytime attack." Willow sighed, her exhaustion starting to show.

"Can you be here first thing in the morning?" Willow asked Xander and Anya.

"With bells on." He grinned.

"Yes, well… maybe you should leave the bells at home." Giles smiled as he stood up. "We should get going. We'll all need a good nights sleep."

Xander and Anya stood up to leave, following Giles out the door. Once they had left, Cordelia stood up. "I'm going to get ready for bed. A girl needs her beauty rest." She gave Willow a hug and left the room.

Willow noticed the slight smile that had appeared on Angel's face at Cordelia's comment. "Does she know how you feel about her?" She asked softly.

Angel looked up, surprised by Willow's insight, and then shook his head. "No."

"And the curse, does she know about that? Did you tell her?"

"About the anchoring? Yes, she knows."

"Then why…?"

Angel sighed needlessly, "It's not a question of my soul being permanent. Our friendship… we're too good of friends to ruin that." He explained.

"Maybe. But that excuse only works if she doesn't feel the same." Willow smiled s she climbed off of the bed. "Just something to think about." She told him as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the bathroom to change.

When she returned, the room was empty, except for Spike's comatose form. She climbed into the bed beside him, and tried to take comfort in his closeness.

Wesley came strolling into the Angel Investigations building, his head immersed in a book as he juggled the couple of steaming coffee in his free hand. He kicked the door shut with one foot and continued into the office, oblivious to anything around him.

"Where’s fang?" Faith strolled in behind the oblivious watcher. She walked over to Cordelia’s desk and hopped up on her desk.

Wesley startled at the sound of another voice, spilling the coffee down the front of his suit. "Dammit, Faith!" Wesley glared at the Slayer.

Faith grinned. "What’s so exciting in that book Wes?" She took another look around the office. "So where is he?"

Wesley took a look around and noticed for the first time that the office was empty. "I, uh, I don’t know. Maybe he’s sleeping?"

Faith shook her head, her wild hair falling around her face. "Nope. No itch. Not here."

"Well, Cordelia’s gone as well." Wesley spoke, more to himself than to the Slayer.

"Say, maybe they’ve finally decided to let loose and are locked up in some seedy motel." Faith raised her eyes suggestively.

Wesley was about to protest her theory when the telephone rang. "Angel Investigations. We help the… Oh Angel. Where are you?"

Faith raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what was going on by listening to Wesley’s end of the conversation.

After several moments, where Wesley listened to the caller speak, he turned to eye Faith curiously. When he noticed she was watching him, he turned back to the desk.

"I’m not sure that’s such a good idea." Wesley sighed. "Alright, I understand." He hung up the phone and turned to Faith.

"What’s up?" She asked, growing wary at the look Wesley was giving her.

"There’s in Sunnydale. There’s been some trouble. They need our help." Wesley watched, concerned as Faiths featured paled slightly.

Angel hung up the phone and turned to face Cordelia who was brushing her hair after having taking a shower. He noticed how it seemed to sparkle in the dim lights of the room. It was all wet and shiny. For a brief moment he felt the urge to brush it for her. Feel it in his fingers.

"Hello? Earth to Angel? You in there?" Cordelia’s voice shook him from his inappropriate thoughts.

"What? Oh sorry. I was… thinking." He told her sheepishly.

Cordelia smiled. "It’s good you can still do that." She teased. "Did you speak to Wesley?"

Angel sat down on the foot of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. They’ll come." He turned to look at Cordelia. "He’s concerned. He doesn’t think she’s ready."

Cordelia sighed as she sat next to Angel on the bed. It had been a rough couple of months. They had all had to make some changes. But things were starting to make sense again. She had slowly begun to like Faith. In some ways they were a lot alike. Insecure, alone. They just dealt with it differently. Where Cordelia had had her parents’ money to fall back on, giving her the ability to pretend she wasn’t as alone as she felt, Faith had had no one, and a destiny.

Cordelia placed a hand on Angel’s arm reassuringly. "She’ll be alright. She’s got us, and Wesley will be there." She looked up as a thought struck her. "Someone should tell Willow."

Angel stood up. "I will. I’ll meet you downstairs."

Cordelia watched him leave and went to find Willow. She was incredibly glad she had kept willow informed with everything that had happened regarding the rogue Slayer.

Wesley watched Faith out of the corner of his eye as they drove down the highway. He knew it would be difficult for the Slayer to come back to Sunnydale. Too much had happened there. Old wounds which hadn’t quite healed.

Wesley also knew that Angel wouldn’t have asked if it weren’t necessary. And after hearing about what had happened to his boss’ Childe that it would be nothing short of a miracle to pull of what they had planned.

Faith popped the CD into the player and turned the volume up all the way, trying to drown out her own thoughts, her own memories. It wasn’t working. She had known from the moment she had broken down outside that guys apartment, the moment she had let herself cry, let Angel comfort her. She had known then that everything was about to change. She wasn’t running anymore, she wasn’t hiding. Angel wouldn’t let her. She had spent the past several months confronting her demons. It had been difficult, more than she could have ever imagined. But she had found that some part of herself still lived. Some part of her hadn’t been shattered by the fragments of her life.

She had found a sort of strange family in Angel, Cordelia and Wesley. A family she had never known before, never wanted, but now that she had it, she didn’t want to lose it.

That was why she was coming to Sunnydale. When Wesley had told her about the trouble that Angel had run into, she had felt anger on Angel’s behalf. She didn’t know Spike. She had only met him that one time, while in Buffy’s body, but she felt a sort of connection to him. She supposed it was because he was Angel’s childe, and she had become a sort of daughter to the brooding vampire. Although to be honest, he didn't brood nearly as much as she remembered. She supposed that was Cordelia’s influence.

Cordelia. There was a paradox if she ever saw one. She hadn’t known her well when she had been in Sunnydale, but everything she had believed about the girl had been wrong. So very wrong. She had more layers than a fancy French wedding cake.

Faith found herself liking Cordelia’s honesty. She didn’t hide her feelings. She laid it all out. Except maybe when it came to Fang. But that was a whole other issue.

Faith let her mind drift again as the cars sped by. She wondered how Willow would react to her coming back. Willow had been an enigma to her. She was incredibly smart, and brave, and yet she allowed herself to become nothing more than a piece of furniture for Buffy and her friends to trample all over.

Willow risked her life for them, and they didn’t even see it. Even while facing impending death, Willow had chosen to help her friends instead of escaping. And more than that she hadn’t backed down. She hadn’t tried to convince her that she still had a chance. She had told her it was too late. And it was. Then. She wasn’t ready to make the hard choices. Not then.

At the time, Faith had believed Willow foolish, now she knew it wasn’t stupidity that kept her there, but loyalty, even if she was loyal to the wrong people. Faith now understood that kind of loyalty. She now knew what drove the witch, despite the danger to herself. She knew it was the same thing that was bringing her to a place she desperately didn’t want to be.

Riley stood at the head of the conference table, handing out instructions for the upcoming mission.

"Okay. We have four hostiles. As we understand it, Hostile 17 is ill. We must take him alive. The others don’t matter. Capture them alive if possible, bring them in dead if not."

He looked at each of the people at the table in turn. Forrest eager, Graham expressionless, Mark had barely repressed anger shining in his eyes, and Buffy appeared determined. He nodded. "Let’s move out."

Professor Maggie Walsh watched the small team leave the conference room. She could wait for them to return with the hostiles. She was eager to begin tests on Hostile 17, and if what she had heard about the other hostile was true, she couldn’t wait to cut him open. A vampire with a soul. That wasn’t something you saw everyday.

Wesley knocked loudly and waited somewhat impatiently. After several seconds the door was swung open, revealing Giles. He looked different than the last time they had seen one another. He was wearing a sweater and a pair of slacks in place of his usual tweed.

"Rupert." Wesley stepped into the house, followed by Faith.

Giles looked at the Slayer warily. "Faith. How are you?"

Faith shrugged. "Five by five." Her eyes darted around the room. She saw Xander and the demon girl staring at her cautiously. She couldn’t help but smirk at the nervousness she saw in the boys’ eyes. "Don’t worry, I don’t bite." Her lips curved into a smile. "Oh wait, I do."

"Faith."

Faith turned around at the warning tone in Angel’s voice. She was about to speak when a noise from the top of the stairs averted her attention. Willow was standing at the top of the stairs staring at her with an expression she couldn’t read. She looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept in far too long.

"Faith." She spoke as she descended the stairs. She walked up to the Slayer. "Thank you for coming."

Faith stared at the witch in confusion for a moment. She wasn’t expecting to be thanked. Slapped, yelled at, thrown out even, but not thanked. "Huh?" She asked dumbly.

"Thank you." Willow repeated. "I know this can’t be easy for you." She smiled slightly and then looked around the room. "Are we ready?"

Giles nodded. "Yes. Wesley and Faith will stay with Spike while I…"

"No." Faith cut Giles off.

"Excuse me?" Wesley asked.

"I’m going with you." She told them. She looked to Angel for support. He shook his head.

"Faith, no." Angel’s voice was firm.

"Fang, I’ll be a better use if I go with you. Wes can watch Blondie." Faith explained.

"I don’t think so." Angel was leery to put her in the middle of the present situation.

"She’s right." Willow’s voice was determined. We’ll need all the help we can get."

Angel sighed needlessly. "Fine, but lets get going. The sooner we get in there, the soon we get out. He doesn’t have a lot of time."

The group of seven filed out of the house and into the garage, climbing into the van Xander had procured for the secret mission.

Once they had gone, Wesley went upstairs to check on his charge. As he entered the bedroom, he found himself gasping at the site. He had never met Spike. The only thing he knew about him was what he had read in the Watcher’s diaries or what Cordelia or Angel had told him. The accounts varied greatly. The Watcher’s information on him depicted him as a ruthless killer who had taken great pleasure in torturing his victims. Angel however spoke of him with no small amount of sadness. He had a great amount of guilt for what his demon had done to the blonde vampire. Cordelia, on the other hand, had several amusing stories to tell regarding Angel’s childe.

Nothing he had heard about the vampire prepared him for what he saw. He looked like death. Which considering he was dead should have been appropriate. But it wasn’t. He could feel the heat coming off of him. It was unnatural. The tremors, which racked his pale body, were further proof to just how close to permanent death he really was.

Wesley froze. He had thought he heard something. He strained his ears to see if anything else could be heard. When nothing was, Wesley relaxed only to be hurled to the floor when two men in camouflage came bursting into the room. They both ran to the bed and stared down at Spike in shock. One of the soldiers spoke into a communications device attached at the soldier. "Got him."

Wesley stood up carefully, and walked behind the two commandos. He noticed a heavy bowl filled with water on a small table near the bed. He crept towards it cautiously. Before he could reach it however, he felt something heavy hit him on the back of the head. He slumped to the floor, opening his eyes briefly, he saw the face of his attacker. Buffy Summers.

Buffy watched as Wesley and Spike were brought into a section of the compound she head never been to. Wesley was locked in a low-security cell, while Spike was taken to one of the labs.

"Where are the others?" Professor Walsh asked from behind Buffy.

Buffy turned around. "I don't know. They weren't at the house. The only other place I could think of would be Angel's mansion. He hasn't lived in Sunnydale for awhile, but he still owns it."

Professor Walsh nodded. "Take a team and go there. Bring them back here."

Buffy smiled slightly. She didn't know what was going on. Where Angel, Cordelia and Willow were, or how Wesley fit into it. The last she had heard was when Wesley had left Sunnydale to return to England after the incident with the Mayor. But yet here he was, back in Sunnydale, apparently keeping an eye on Spike. It didn't make any sense. She hoped Professor Walsh could get some answers.

She followed Riley out of the building, leaving Professor Walsh alone in the room. She smiled as she entered the lab where Hostile 17 had been brought.

"Let's see what went wrong." She told the unconscious vampire.

Xander parked the car near one of the many sewer entrances. He turned around and faced the group in the back of the van. "We ready?"

"Lets get it done." Angel opened the door and was thankful for the hazy weather and the splattering of trees that seemed to cover the tunnel entrance like a protective covering.

After several minutes and some well-directed turns, the group found the entrance. Angel looked to Faith. The two were going to remove the door forcefully if necessary. Luckily it wasn't. The door opened without much resistance. However they were then met with another door. This one was attached to a security device.

"Let me." Anya said with a smile." She approached the door and felt around the frame. As her fingers met with the sensors, she began to feel a long the edge for the switches he knew would be embedded there.

Cordelia watched the former demon, impressed. She was about to comment when her feet where knocked out from under her with the force of another vision. The images came to her with such force, her breath nearly stopped. "Oh God!"

"Delia? What is it?" Angel lifted her into his arms. "What did you see?"

Cordelia was shaking with fear. "They… they…" She stared at the group surrounding her. "We have to hurry."

Anya released the mechanism and the door slid opened, allowing the entrance into the compound.

Willow pushed past the others, her eyes darting around frantically. S he didn't know what Cordelia had seen in her vision, but she knew it had to be bad for it to have scared her so much.

"This way. We won't have to go too far. I just need access to one of there terminals." She pointed to a door off to the right. Let's try there first."

"Cor, What happened?" Faith asked as she stepped back.

Cordelia turned to the Slayer. "They were doing something to him. Experimenting on him." She whispered, allowing her fear to come through in her voice, if just for a moment.
 

Willow entered the room and was pleased to find a computer sitting on the lone desk in the office. She ran over to it, and ran her fingers expertly over the keyboard, searching its hard drive for the information she sought. When she found a group of files, which looked promising, she started saving them to a disk she had brought, bypassing the security measures.

Once the files were copied, Willow decided to take a look at some of the encrypted messages. What she found, made her heart skip a beat. Several in fact. "Angel." She called softly.

When the vampire stood behind her, she pointed to the message currently on the screen. "Look, according to this they sent a team to capture us. To capture him." She looked up at him, her eyes starting to water slightly. "Wesley would be no match for them."

Angel turned around, letting his vampire senses take over. "He's here. He's close." He turned back to Willow. "See if you can find out where they took him."

Maggie Walsh looked through the microscope at the implant she had removed from Hostile 17. "Look what we have here. It's fused."

"You've found the problem?" Dr. Angleman spoke from behind her.

"It doesn't make any sense. It was fused somehow. This shouldn't have been possible." She shook her head in wonder. " We'll have to do some more test. Find out why."

"Where is he now?" Dr Angleman asked as he placed his eye over the microscope eyepiece.

"We moved him and the mortal he was with to block E." Professor Walsh explained.

"Excellent."